Saturday, February 28, 2009

The end of the month is getting close and, once again, all The Daring Bakers around the world are getting excited because the time has come to blog about their challenge and see what the other participants are presenting...

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of "WMPE's" blog and Dharm of"Dad ~ Baker & Chef" who have chosen a "Chocolate ValentinoCake" by Chef Wan; a "Vanilla Ice Cream" recipe from Dharm and a "Vanilla Ice Cream" recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

At home we both are very fond of flourless chocolate cakes and ice creams, so I was really looking fowards to making this very promising dessert!

Both recipes offered much freedom of interpretation andeverybody had the choice to pick the kind of chocolate they wanted (be it giandujia, white, black, milk, etc...) and flavor the cake (or not) as they wished. We also could use the ice cream recip which we fancied. So, I decided to take a darker variety of chocolate (60% cocoa) and to adapt Dharm's "Vanilla Ice Cream". And, as I'm very keen on the irresistible association between chocolate, tonka and peanut, I chose to create my own "Peanut & Tonka Ice Cream" in order to accompany the "Chocolate Valentino Cake". To add a little touch of originality, tanginess and craziness, I decorated my plates with reduced dark balsamic vinegar...

Needless to say that I was extremely pleased by the great looks and awesome taste of this delectable dessert. The flavoring were just perfect and it presented really well too.

As no sugar nor flour are added to the batter, this subtle "Chocolate Valentino Cake" isn't too sweet or even sickly as it is the case with many rich chocolate cakes. It has a strong cocoa aroma and is fluffy, very moist and almost fudgy. The "Peanut & Tonka Ice Cream" adds a layer of scrumptiousness to this luscious treat as the delicate peanutty taste as well as the heady, haunting and unusual, yet lush and pleasant tonka flavor pairs wonderfully with that of the cake. Not to forget that the texture contrast between the creamy, crunchy ice cream and the smooth chocolate cake is just heavenly!

This challenge was highly enjoyable as it was straight-forward and not too messy, nevertheless the result was fantastic on the gustatory level as much as on the visual level. A recipe I will make again and adapt according to my cravings!

I really want to thank Wendy at "WMPE's" (USA) and Dharm at "Dad ~ Baker & Chef" (Malaysia) for having chosen that gorgeous recipe and for bringing the spirit of Valentine's Day into our plates!

Ingredients:16 Oz (1 pound/454g) Semisweet chocolate (60% cocoa), roughly chopped1/2 Cup (1 stick) plus2 Tbs (146 grams total) Unsalted butter5 Large eggs (~63g), separatedMethod:1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed.5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 190° C (375° F).9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 60°C (140° F).10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Remarks:Do not over-whip the cake or it will be dry. If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.

Method:1. Pour the milk and the cream into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla paste and ground tonka, and bring to the boil.2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy.3. Gradually pour in the hot milk/cream mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time4. When the custard is thicke and smooth, pour it back into the bowl and let cool 10 minutes.5. Mix together the peanut butter and the 3 tbs cream. Add the peanut butter mixture and the caramel sauce to the warm custard and whisk well.6. Cool the peanut butter custard and, then chill.7. Put into an ice cream machine and churn the mixture until thick, about 30 minutes (see instructions on your ice cream maker).8. Mix in the chopped peanuts and freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop.

Remarks:Don't add the peanut butter mixture if the custard is too hot.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Today, I am sharing a set of photos that I would normally put up on my blog on Fridays. Exceptionally, due to Daring Bakers schedules, the Wednesday recipe will be posted on Saturday (28th of February, around 12h00 AM) instead...

As I still had a few shots left of my trip to Lausanne (in November 2008), I thought that I'd show you how the Cathedral of Notre-Dame and it's surroundings look. Enjoy!

To see my other Lausanne posts, please follow the links below:Lausanne Part 1,Lausanne Part 2, Lausanne Part 3, Lausanne Part 4.

Monday, February 23, 2009

In Veyrier (Geneva, Switzerland) we are very lucky to have three fruit and vegetable markets a week; on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays in different spots around the commune.

My favorite one is a farmer's market situated in a barn in the middle of the greenhouse area in Les Marais de Troinex.

There, you can find a smallish, yet nice array of vegetables, fruits, homemade jams, great artisan cheeses as well meat from the Jura region (beef, sausages, porc...). There you even have the possibility to sit down at a wooden picnic table and enjoy a cup of tea with a slice of cake or tart...

A cute and practical little market that offers good products (mostly regional or Swiss) for a reasonable price!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

I can never resist the call for baking bars (also known as slices or squares, depending on the countries) and always feel very tempted by any recipe which's title contains this magical word...

Already, when I was a child, during my holidays in England (in Derbyshire/at my grandparents), I remember that I offen ordered slices (flapjacks, caramel nut crunch, chocolate topped crunchy slices, nanaimo bars, etc...) whenever we went ou for tea. Their promising looks, crunchiness, gooeyness, fudginess and lusciously comforting richness really spoke to me. Even nowadays, as a grown-up with matured tastes, I still feel that same uncontrolable attraction to this regressive treat!

This weekend, as I was browsing through my diverse cookbooks in search of something to bake. I had only one word in mind: bars. I absolutely had to fulfill this craving, so, I decided to choose a no-fuss recipe that would be made within no time at all, but which would still have that oomph factor that I ached for. And these "Amaretti, Apricot Jam & Coconut Bars" were exactly what I was looking for...

Contrarily to other bars, these dainty "Amaretti, Apricot Jam & Coconut Bars" are not too caloric (neither are they light) or overly sweet, nonetheless, they are as scrumptious and enjoyable as the "dirtier" (understand "luxurious" and "hearty") versions.

With their three layers as well as their divine, yet somewhat old-fashioned flavor combination, these bars are real crowd pleasers. The buttery vanilla shortbread cake layer pairs wonderfully well with the perky apricot aroma of the second layer as well as with the exquisite taste of the almond-coconut layer.

Method for the "Shortbread":1. Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F).2. Grease a 20x20cm (8x8 inches) pan.3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.4. Cream the butter together with the sugar, until pale in color and fluffy.5. Add the egg and vanilla, and incorporate well.6. then, incorporate the flour mixture in two batches.7. With the help of a spatula, spread the batter/pastry evenly over the base of the prepared pan, then spread the jam over the batter/pastry.Method for the "Topping":8. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a fork, add the almond essence, then beat in the sugar, coconut and almonds.9. Spread the topping evenly over the jam.10. Bake for 35 minutes.11. Let cool and a rack, in the pan.Remarks:If you wish, you may sustitute any jam (raspberry, strawberry, mango, passion fruit, etc...) for apricot jam and use 2 cups grated coconut instead of the 1 cup grated coconut and 1 cup ground almonds mentioned in the recipe, or replace the castor sugar by light brown sugar.These bars keep for up to 4 days.

Serving suggestions:Enjoy at any time of the day and night and serve on any occasion!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Today, I am posting another non-food related meme. Hopie at "Hopie's Kitchen" (France) and Nadia at "Couzine Diel Nadia" (France) have tagged me... The rules are to share the 5th-10th lines of the 25th page of the book you are currently reading.

Here's how it goes:"On one level, six years of psychology classes caused her to question her immediate fearful interpretation of those night sounds, which conceivably could be insignificant, after all. Any well-trained psychoanalyst would have a wealth of labels to pin on someone who leaped first to a negative conclusion, who lived in expectation of sudden violence."

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

During the weekend, I'm always looking for easy to make, yet highly pleasurable treats that we'll be able to savor in front of our favorite series...

While going through my much-loved copy of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking Fom My Home To Yours", a streusel-topped cake attracted my attention with it's interesting combination of flavors and moist texture. It looked and sounded so good. I knew that I had to try it!

Although, at first glance, this crumb-topped coffee cake looks somehow plain, I wasn't at all disappointed as it is really not just an ordinary baked good. From afar, it looks just like any other cake and seems not to be too special, but once you take a bite from it, you immediately realise that it is unique and soul-upliftingly divine.

Dorie Greenspan's "Cardamom Crumb Cake" is heavenly. The unusual combination of cardamom, coffee, walnuts, vanilla and orange zest is just mindblowingly fantastic, and it's smooth as well as moist inside pairs perfectly well with the generous layer of cardamom-spiced, walnut-dotted crunchy topping.

Method for the "Crumbs":1. Put all the ingredients except the butter in a bowl and toss them together with a spatula just to blend.2. Add the butter and, using your fingers or the spatula, mix everything together until you have crumbs of different sizes.3. Set the crumbs aside.Method for the "Cake":4. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 200° C (400° F).5. Butter an 20x20cm (8 inch square) pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Put the pan on a baking sheet.6. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and espresso powder in a large bowl.7. Turn the dry ingredients out onto a sheet of wax paper and put the sugar and zest in the bowl. Rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange strong, then return the dry ingredients to the bowl and whisk to blend.8. Put the remaining ingredients in another bowl and whisk them to blend.9. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir - don't beat - to mix.10. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and top with a thick, even layer of the crumbs. 11. Pat the crumbs ever so gently into the batter.12. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake has risen (it will crown), the crumbs are golden and a thin knife inserted in the center comes out clean.13. Transfer to a rack to cool.Remarks:Why not replace the walnuts by pecans?When mixing the butter with the dry crumb ingredients, remember that it's nice to have a few big pieces, so don't overdo it.The crumbs can be made up to 3 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated.When mixing the wet ingrdients with the dry ones, stir only until you've got an evenly moistened batter.Cut the cake in the pan, otherwise, if you transfer it to a serving plate, you'll lose some of the crumbs when you turn it over.This cake is best served on the day it is made, but it can be airtight wrapped and frozen up to 2 months (once it defrosts, it benefits from a quick warm-up in a 180° C/350° F oven).Serving suggestions:Serve warm or at room temperature for breakfast, lunch, brunch or dessert.You can even drizzle some flavored (cardamom, coffee or vanilla) glazing over the cake.